Due to a variety of factors including, but not limited to, global warming issues, fuel economy issues, crude oil price and availability issues, hybrid vehicles are becoming more popular today. Various hybrid vehicles are currently on the market today and most rely upon the use of a gasoline, or other fossil fuel, engine that is supplemented in some manner by an electric motor that is driven by battery power. As is well known in the art, the batteries that are used to power hybrid vehicles are both costly and heavy due to the number needed to yield a noticeable increase in vehicle fuel economy. Given this, various other hybrid or alternative power sources are being investigated as methods by which to power transportation vehicles (e.g., cars, trucks, semis, boats, personal water craft, planes, etc). To date, all such hybrid, or alternative fuel, power systems have various drawbacks including, but not limited to, high cost, availability of fueling stations (e.g., hydrogen fueling stations for fuel cell vehicles only currently exist in a few select areas), technical disadvantages (e.g., hybrid systems can be inefficient because of the power drain produced by having to heat and/or cool a passenger compartment), etc. Additionally, a hybrid power system for a transportation vehicle that is able to “do away” with the mechanical transmission necessary in gas/electric hybrids would be able to capture significant fuel savings.
Given the above, there is a need in the art for improved hybrid power systems that are designed to not only power a vehicle for the purposes of motion, but that can also serve to heat or cool a passenger cabin in a more efficient manner.